


Champion Takes Commander

by Trewestriandta



Series: Blessing or a Curse [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/M, Feels, Rare Pairings, Smut, Universe Alteration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 19:43:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10600917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trewestriandta/pseuds/Trewestriandta
Summary: An alternate look at why Hawke ran after Kirkwall,  and what the consequences of that day were.





	1. Knight Captains and Fugitives.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a standalone story at the moment, though it is pulled from a larger story I may eventually write for fun.
> 
> Brace for smut, angst, and FEELS.

Meredith Stannard had become 196 pounds of red, pulsing Lyrium. She'd led Kirkwall through its bloodiest period without legal slavery, and had only been called up short on her psychopathic, bigoted murder spree by none other than Rena Hawke. For the last ten years, Cullen Rutherford, now Knight Captain of the Templar Order, had been either hearing about or directly dealing with Rena.

Nine years ago Cullen had been almost as new to Kirkwall as the Hawke siblings had been, and there had been something different about the brother and sister duo. More than just Ferelden refugee status. Though Cullen would admit some part of him had still felt pride at the time; to hear that Rena had come out of the Deep Roads wealthy even after her brother had joined the Templar Order himself. 

And Cullen... Cullen had actually stepped forward repeatedly to train the young man. He was a remarkably sturdy Warrior, unshakable even amongst the most outrageous of magical displays. But Cullen had always felt protective of the younger man. Carver had survived the betrayal at Ostagar while Cullen had survived the betrayal by Uldred. Both had come out the other side of the Fifth Blight physically competent but devastatingly scarred to the soul. So Cullen encouraged the best Templars Kirkwall had to offer to treat Carver Hawke like Cullen's own protégé. As Cullen rose to second in Command, that meant Carver too, advanced. But even Cullen had to admit he was no longer impartial to the Hawkes.

Rena had actively saved his life during the Qunari ransack of Kirkwall. At the time he had remembered Warden Surana,  hero of the Fifth Blight and run to the Alienate to defend them in her memory. Instead Rena had come through a hazy mist of smoke and blood, fire dancing at her fingertips as Lightening rendered the shadows empty. He's always had that gut feeling Rena was a mage, her skill with archery not at all dismissed for also having magic.

Cullen had brought with him Carver, a young new recruit named Barris only just into armour and not actually a Knight yet, and several elder veterans. As per usual Cullen stood with the least experienced of his people, an action that kept him alive because the Qunari slaughtered their way through the Templars Cullen had left defending the steps. When the Sten finally targeted the Alienage, Rena had been his rescue.

Pretending to overlook her mage status as she gained notoriety as the Champion Of Kirkwall had become ridiculous. Even Meredith knew but couldn't prove it. And not because Rena Hawke was that Maker Blessed careful; no, she had more friends than she had any right to. Even Cullen started to defy ameredith's decrees where the Hawke mage and her crew were concerned.

And Andraste forgive him, but Cullen even started funnelling mages  to Hawke's people to get them out. It wasn't enough; for every child mage he saved, an adult suffered in their place. Worse yet his soul bore the burden of knowing each elder, each adult Enchanter was made Tranquil against the law of the Chantry. And still the mages had volunteered to save the young, to give mere children the chance to live.

When Anders blew up the Chantry, Cullen couldn't even cry. He hurt for the lives lost but he was also oddly grateful that this meant it was all over. He expected to die before the end of the night; his last vow to get the Hawke siblings reunited so he could believe he had at least done one thing right. Rena Hawke had lost so much after doing as much as she could to help people, she deserved to have someone watch out for her brother while she couldn't.

And despite every belief, every oath he had sworn by, Cullen had mutenied against Meredith in the end. Years before he had once told Rena that mages couldn't be treated like people were; idiotic and ignorant and oh so cruel.

Cullen had stood fast when Kinloch had fallen. Men, women, mages, Templars, his home since Honneleath had been violated. His mind and body has become tools used against him as the demons tormented him but Cullen had stood firm. Kirkwall was easier; Meredith was eager to be on watch for blood mages and gave Cullen that sense of 'something is being done' he'd desperately needed. Part of him wondered why he hadn't just blindly followed her to the bitter end, especially since Grand Cleric Elthinia never denounced her actions. With the Chantry seeming to support Meredith's actions, the smart move would have been to heel like a well trained dog. But he hadn't and Cullen wasn't entirely sure why.

When Meredith revealed her ultimate depravity and corruption, Cullen had stood with Hawke against her. And when Rena had broken Meredith's will, Cullen struck the final, fatal blow. 

"Curly, take her. Keep her hidden and safe until sunrise tide." Varric curled Rena's arm over his shoulders, Cullen discarding the Templar sheild to wrap around Hawke's waist. "Bring her to the Siren's Bargain at dawn." and the Dwarf was gone.

So Cullen took Rena Hawke to the one place he knew no one would look for her; his room at the Gallows. All the mages had been freed and fled, the Templars confused and scattered without guidance. It was surprisingly easy for Cullen to not care about Meredith's Templars while Kirkwall's Champion was bleeding in his arms.

"Never thought," Rena panted through the pain even as Cullen cut through the last shreds of her armour to bandage what her abomination ally couldn't Heal. "That you," she tried to brace as Cullen peeled off her leathers,  the tearing sound of dried blood familiar to them both. "would get me," Hawke persisted in being a smartass even as Cullen carefully washed her torso, revealing far too many 'secondary injuries' that the damn apostate couldn't Heal. It made Cullen shudder to think of how many primary wounds that meant Rena had borne. "into bed," Rena's voice went tight with pain and Cullen could barely focus on her sentence past his concern. "without saying Maker's Breath first." she finally concluded and it took Cullen's over taxed brain a moment longer to string the broken pieces together, but he laughed weakly.

"Andraste's nippe ring Hawke," he started to try and scold Rena without remembering that this was the same woman that had kicked open the doors to confront the Arishok for the sake of a city that wasn't her birth home. But what Rena Hawke wanted, she was willing to bleed to achieve. Then that meant she'd let an Arishok rage at her and tear strips out of her until she could kill him, now it meant that Rena only let Cullen get his soldier's curse out before she silenced him by pressing her lips to his.

Cullen wouldn't say that the thought of kissing Rena Hawke had never crossed his mind because it certainly had. Sometimes all too frequently. But at first he wasn't sure how to respond. Smoke still tickled in his lungs, the stench of charred wood likely covering the reek of sweat and blood that had to cling to them both. But the tang of Lyrium on Rena's lips drew Cullen's tongue to swipe against the familiar taste, and soon the soft sounds Rena was making left Cullen befuddled. Her hands, hands that had been coated in fire and lightning not even an hour ago, quickly unbuckled his heavy armor as if she knew where all the weak spots were. Hawke wouldn't let him pull away from her, as if she knew that he'd reconsider if given a moment of rational thought. 

Even as her mouth left his, it was only to target the newly revealed and vulnerable skin of his neck and collar bone. Goose flesh chased across his skin at the sensation and left him gasping. But also helped him wrap Hawke in his arms to hold still for a moment. 

"Rena...Rena... By the burned Lady what are you doing?" he finally squawked at her as Hawke's hands attacked his underclothes. Where had his proper trousers gone? 

"Cullen please. I just...I need to feel alive. To know I'm not dead. Please." Rena Hawke pleaded, her pale gray eyes as startling as always in her dark complexion. Like the moon on a midwinter night. 

He hated to see the tears and hopelessness in Rena's usually indomitable gaze so he did the only thing he could; bend his focus to showing Rena Hawke she was abundantly alive. Cullen found himself pressed back onto his own bed, all pretence at clothing stripped away.

As Rena straddled his hips, not yet sinking over his length, Cullen allowed himself the chance to touch her impossibly red hair. It was as silken and warm as he imagined. Somehow Rena shifted slightly and Cullen almost sounded wounded as his cock was suddenly enveloped in glorious warmth. He chased the moans of pleasure from Rena's lips and she retaliated by ensuring that Cullen's resilience was tested.

Cullen definitely had a thing for her hair, Rena smirked as she pulled his hands free of her tresses and brought them down to her breasts where she wanted them. He was an adept study, calloused fingers quickly adding pressure and pleasure across nipples and breast. Everything on the right side of pain or close enough to draw guttural moans from her chest. Her next sound was far less sexy as Cullen gripped her hips and shifted their bodies apart, turning so that Rena ended up sprawled on her back, oddly grateful that higher ranking Templars got real beds instead of cots. Before she could orient herself, Rena's head spun again as Cullen kissed his mouth up her inner thigh. For a man raised awfully Chantry,  he certainly worshipped between her legs.

Rena didn't mean to be so vocal, her hoarse sounds not loud but constant as he slowly licked and sucked her clit and the skin around it. Cullen gripped her thigh, other hand lifting to palm her breast and tweak across nipple, and Hawke bit her lip hard. Her nails scraped through his short clipped hair. Without warning Cullen's hand left her breast and Hawke's whole body arched as he guided two fingers into her and massaged them deep. He worried at a glorious spot inside her like a prayer stone, and Rena fell apart to his touch. 

Cullen let her body ride out the orgasm,  fingers gentle but still inside and he kissed at the skin of her thigh.

"I know I've cum but please don't stop." Rena begged when he pulled his fingers from her body.

Cullen looked up the length of Rena's body, past scars as beautiful as her peaked nipples were. Rena's eyes were glazed and he was certain there was a satisfied flush to her skin but thankfully her plain words removed his concerns about her interest.

He let her help pull his body upwards, only putting up resistance when he latched his mouth to her firm breast. A wide, flat scar slanted from her right collar bone, across her sternum, and ending next to her navel; a gift from the Arishok he never expected to see. Cullen wanted to remember everything he could about Rena Hawke like this.  Not the Champion Of Kirkwall, not the legend but the woman spread out under him and urging him to continue. 

Mindful of her injuries Cullen held his body weight off of her but Rena wrapped her body around his the moment he pressed back into her. And then the little vixen started to breathlessly intone parts of the Chant, scattered passages and snippets that were a lewd litany as Cullen felt Rena's body start to shudder. Her words gasped and broke as Cullen strove to ruin her concentration,  the room filled with half moaned chants and the wet, deep sounds of pleasure. And Rena's attempt at speaking failed entirely as her body pulsed with ecstasy, his body chasing after it. 

Cullen still held his body off of Rena's,  arms shaking with strain and sweat cooling on his back. Under him Rena was still all but wrapped around him, thighs tight to his hips and her arms looped across his shoulders.

"Do you feel alive now Champion?" he found himself asking outloud. 

The woman under him grinned at his comment. " I dont know Cullen, you might have to keep convincing me until sunrise." she taunted. So he did.

At the break of day, both Champion and Knight Captain were exhausted and sore from more than just the battle against Meredith. Cullen easily offered Hawke a shirt and trousers to replace the blood soaked and torn leathers she'd battled in, and he donned simple clothes himself. Cullen had to admit to himself that there was a certain symbolism to him that Rena Hawke,  the Champion Of Kirkwall had freed him of his Templar armour. Somehow even then he knew when they left his room that morning, and he deliberately left the Templar trappings behind, that there was no going back for him 


	2. Of Hawkes and Lions.

A year later Rena Hawke would come to Skyhold at the request of her dear friend Varric Tethras. In the time since the explosion, Rena fled to the sea with Isabella and Fenris. The ocean air and rocking sea were what she thought she'd needed, and Rena had thought that maybe despite the turmoil her life had descended into she could have a simple life after all. It hadn't lasted.

"You sure about this Hawke?" Varric quietly checked for the umpteenth time as they stood on the battlements, waiting for the Inquisitor.

"You summoned me Varric, remember?" Rena felt amused as she shifted her weight, resisting the urge to rock from side to side.

"It's the end of the world, I felt like dying surrounded by my family." He was probably joking.

And then the Inquisitor arrived and the Kirkwall friends refocused on the matter at hand; saving the world from Corypheus. Again. Nira Lavellan was an interesting comparison to Merrill, Hawke's Dalish friend. Merrill was sweet, gentle, kind, and a blood mage of astonishing power. Nira was harder, aloof, and cautious. None of the open easiness that Merrill shared with everyone was present in Nina's quiet assessment.

The baby really seemed to throw her off too; then again not many people expected the Champion of Kirkwall to have her infant wrapped and strapped to her chest. Ruth was currently sleeping, her golden eyes hidden behind ever so slightly red eyelashes. And the riot of curls ontop her head may be more red than gold,  but both screamed her paternity. Not that anyone would stop to make that connection; no one expected Hawke to bed Cullen.

At first Isabella and Fenris had given her grief for sea sickness, but by the third month even they were suspicious. And Hawke's secret was out once they picked up Anders again. The Spirit Healer had known the moment he'd seen her. The shit storms unleashed when Rena had finally confessed who had gotten her pregnant had been epic. 

Having told the Inquisitor everything she could think of to help, Rena had left her best friend to talk plans over with the wry Elf. She walked the battlements quietly, a hood drawn up to hide her unmistakable hair. The heaviness in her breasts told her that soon Ruth would wake hungry, but for now Hawke had a moment to stand and stare.

The Frostback Mountains were astonishingly beautiful,  the grays, whites, and hints of green so different than the blue sky and blue sea that had been her vista. Inside Skyhold was definitely a defensive castle but it too had a severe loveliness. The training grounds were beaten down but contained, the Healers Wing the opposite. The cry of a lone mountain bird sang out and then Ruth woke with a silence shattering shriek. Mama's little Siren.

With a wry grin Hawke pulled her hood back so she could unhook her hungry daughter. It always took a few minutes for Rena to fully prep her cranky daughter, get her shirt open, and put the baby to breast; during which Ruth screamed to high tides.

"Alright nugget, breakfast is served." Rena groused jokingly as her daughter latched on and settled down. The first signs of teeth were making Hawke wince but she just quietly endured. And then she finally looked away from her daughter to realize that standing on the battlements with a shrieking baby was a really good way to draw attention.

And standing down at the training grounds staring up at her in shock was none other than Cullen Rutherford himself, Commander of the Inquisition’s armies. 

"Oh shit nugget," Rena spoke softly so as not to startle her, "here comes daddy." Her daughter drank on, ignorant to the drama about to unfold. 

It didn't take long for the Commander to break free of the paralysis holding him and stride towards the stairs. Rena didn't run, figuring this was inevitable. He was wearing armour again, a different set that suited him better than his Templar armour ever had. He'd grown his hair out, a riot of curls that matched the infant suckling except for hue. Cullen was all golden sunshine, Rena was fire red, and their daughter had the lion's mane mix of them both. 

He stood five feet away and stared, a vulnerable look in his eyes as he focused from infant to Hawke and back. Rena knew he'd already done the calculations in his head. 

"Her name is Ruth Io Hawke and she has your eyes." Rena was surprised at how soft her voice was and she had to pull her eyes off of Ruth to look up at the man who'd only just found out she existed. 

Cullen remained alarmingly quiet even as he slowly stepped closer,  his hand coming up to gently touch one of Ruth's red-gold curls. "She's beautiful." He finally spoke.

"You can hold her once she's fed and burped." Rena offered, knowing how badly he must want to ask. He finally met her eyes. "When I thought you'd died at Haven I regretted not telling you about her. You deserve to know her and I always planned on raising her knowing about you." Rena didn't understand why she was babbling.

One of Cullen's eyebrows quirked as Hawke tried to recall if he'd always had that lip scar. His hand left it's gentle discovery of Ruth's curls to come up and cup her jaw, and then Cullen was kissing her. It was brief, chaste even and he stepped back flushed and rubbing the back of his neck even as Rena smirked. 

"You do realize every single person in the Keep just saw that right?" Varric called out, startling them both. Rena and Cullen both turned to face the Dwarf. "Andraste's ass there goes any chance Red and Ruffles had of hiding the identity of nugget's father." He groused. 

"Varric the moment she opens her eyes people were going to figure it out. I brought Ruth so that they could meet."  Rena shrugged, shifting her daughter as she finally finished feeding; Maker's puckered butthole her nipples were chafed again. 

Long practice had Rena laying a spit towel over her shoulder and propping Ruth up for her post feeding belch and bubble. "I wanted them to meet too Hawke," Varric was curmudgeonly as always. "but you and Curly standing in view of all, acting like one of my torrid romance novels? Come on Hawke." He chided.

"I realize there is a lot to discuss," Cullen recovered his composure, "and Varric you are right that this is not a matter for display on the battlements." A year Commanding had done Cullen some good it seemed. 

"Though think of the reputation he'll have once it gets out that he banged the Champion." Varric gleefully took the jibe and Hawke laughed even as she gently settled Ruth in the post feeding process.

Varric peeled off to allow the duo a chance to talk, satisfied that Cullen's office was more private than the walls were. Ruth dribbled into the spit towel and then finally unleashed a wicked burp that was surely too loud for her size. Rena felt oddly nervous as she followed him; this wasn't the same Cullen she'd taunted and provoked in Kirkwall. 

"Loose any clothing with sharp spikey edges or prickly bits." Rena requested before offering to hand over Ruth, and she tried hard not to sound amused about asking Cullen to strip. He gave her a curious look at her barely contained laughter though. "Me getting you out of your armour is how this started." His lips turned up and Cullen laughed with her even as Rena passed him Ruth.

Cullen was absolutely in love with his daughter; it was plain to see from the moment he'd learned she existed. Hawke felt safe enough to leave Ruth with him often but unless he grew tits she still had to be the one feeding Ruth.

It led to a strange arrangement where Hawke wanted Ruth and Cullen to become accustomed to each other, but she was an undeniable part of the mix too. It required a compromise between Commander and Champion where they not only had to figure out how to be co-parents,  but how to work together too. Especially since it quickly got out that yes they had an adorable little girl together but were very much not married. At least no one was trying to recommend that as a plausible solution. 

Rena and Cullen developed a habit of ending the day together sitting in his loft after Ruth's feeding. It allowed Rena to breastfeed in comfort and let Cullen cuddle his daughter afterwards. It was also a good way to get to know the man behind the title of Commander. 

After The Winter Palace Rena noticed a change in Cullen. His headaches were worse and he seemed more twitchy than even Anders ever got. Cullen had never shown any regret or dismay over their past physical intimacy but Rena could see how being pawed at Halamshiral affected him. Even playing with Ruth until she fell asleep didn't seem to help today, and Rena herself wasn't in the mood for the Rest or other rambunctiousness. Instead they sat under the broken section of his roof, watching their daughter lay in a handcrafted baby bed courtesy of Blackwall. 

"I was so... wounded after Kirkwall that at first I thought my morning sickness was just depression." Hawke didn't mean to start telling him this but she knew the look in his eyes all too well. "I asked you that night to help me feel alive, but for a long time after I thought about the opposite." she didn't say it to be cruel,  trying to put into words something she only ever experienced in her head. "And then I could feel her."

There was a soft smile on Rena's face, her eyes distant as she lifted a hand to touch her now flat belly. Cullen regretted not being aware of his daughter during Hawke's pregnancy,  but he and Rena had come together then out of desperation, not love. So instead of resenting Rena, Cullen listened to her experiences now.

"She liked to kick. As soon as anyone even looked at my belly by the eight month, wham there was her foot." Now Rena looked at him and grinned fondly. "I suspect she kicked me in the ribs for all the times you wished you could kick me in the shins." 

"I wouldn't say that,"  he saw her surprise, "or else she'd still be kicking." He teased and saw Hawke try not to laugh. Getting Ruth to fall asleep this first time was easy ; after that was exponentially harder.

Rena leaned over to bump her shoulder against his instead; part rebuke, part agreement. "But she was..is exactly perfect and I love you for giving me the chance to raise her. I can look at her and know that as many terrible things I have done, she at least is something I did right." He was staring at her, not sure if Rena was even entirely aware of what she was saying but Cullen let her continue; afraid of what she would say if confronted with her own words. "I think you need to be reminded of that too." she looked at him for a moment and Cullen's chest hurt as if he'd been stabbed. "You've done some serious shit Cullen, but your daughter is going to grow up knowing that you've done real good as well; Commander." she smirked at his title. 

Cullen surprised them both when he kissed her but Rena was quick to respond. There were no injuries to worry them this time, only a consideration for their sleeping infant kept them silent. Hawke's shirt was quickly peeled away, and with an almost amused quirk of his lips, Cullen retrieved the little jar the Healer had given Rena to help with cracked skin. He peppered kisses to Rena's lips, jaw, neck, and collarbone even as he gently soothed the ointment into her hyper sensitive breasts. Hawke gave these strangled little whines and gasps as he gentled his fingers across her nipples and Cullen huffed his laughter into her skin.

When he kissed down her scar and peeled the last of her clothes off, Rena bit at her own hand to stay silent. Cullen was used to an ascetic lifestyle but he was starting to assume that he'd been the last person to touch Rena in a passionate way; she was so responsive to his touch. 

With that thought in mind Cullen decided to take his time. His hands quickly peeled off his own clothes but slowly took their time touching Rena's body. He enjoyed the solid strength of her torso, the swell of her hips and belly and thighs drawing his touch as Cullen kissed down past her navel.

When Cullen sucked on the nub of her clit, Hawke made a soft, utterly feminine gasp that nearly undid Cullen entirely. His hands tucked under her spine, feeling the dip of muscle to bone before he cupped the tight mass of her ass in his hands. Rena swallowed a squeak as Cullen teased his thumbs against the lips of her labia, but as he enjoyed the taste of her Cullen knew he wasn't silent either. He could feel her hands gripping into the curls he fought with daily and for once he was glad he'd grown the length out. Cullen gladly held Hawke's body close, the taste and touch of her addicting to him. When Rena gave a long, pleasure filled wail, Cullen had to fight his own body's pleasure back until Hawke pulled him up her body; kissing him as if she were chasing the taste of her orgasm from his lips. 

He didn't rush still, kissing Rena as if that were all he needed to do for the rest of his life. This time it was Hawke that flipped them over,  wriggling her body over his until it was Cullen making the strained sounds as he felt her position over him. They weren't rushed by daybreak this time, though Cullen actually planned for more than just a night with Rena Hawke. He could love her for all the faults she found in herself but forgave in him, but mostly Cullen could allow himself to love the woman that had become a legend. Neither one of them knew what to expect at Adamant afterall.

**Author's Note:**

> This short story came into my head and would not leave. I blame RogueLioness and Avalantia both, THANK you.


End file.
